fire

Crews are working to contain a fire that has burned about 300 acres of the 1.5-million acre Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bill Paxton says a patrol discovered smoke Monday in a 12,000-acre area known as the Hercules Glades Wilderness. The patrol had been roving the area in Taney County because dry conditions had put it at risk for fire. Paxton said Thursday that the 35 firefighters battling the blaze are "making real good progress" and that rains that fell Wednesday helped.

Fire plays an important role in many Midwestern ecosystems, but when it burns out of control it can also be devastating, as the wildfires in Oklahoma and Kansas have demonstrated. This time of year, when a lot of summer grasses and brush are still dead but the weather is warming up, the land is particularly flammable. That’s why agencies like the Missouri Department of Conservation take meticulous care in planning prescribed fire.

Missouri's fire marshal says investigators are not able to determine the cause of an August fire in Osage Beach that killed four children.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a fire investigator's report released Tuesday found the damage was so extensive he could not determine whether the fire was started by cigarette butts in a can or by electrical wiring from an air conditioning condenser on the condo's landing. The can was on the floor of the landing between the condenser and a wall.

State conservation officials suspect arson in about 20 wildfires near the Truman Reservoir in west-central Missouri in the past week.

The Department of Conservation says the fires burned more than 1,000 acres of public and private land. No injuries or structural losses have been reported, but officials say wildfires can cause significant harm and that fighting them costs money and puts people at risk.

The conservation agency says crews have fought about 50 fires this year in Henry and St. Clair counties that have burned about 3,000 acres.

Low humidity and heavy winds have created opportune conditions for controlled fires to run away. Since Friday, Fire departments in mid-Missouri have responded to about 20 outside fires. “For this time of year, it’s pretty common,” said Martina Pounds, a spokesperson with the Boone County Fire District. “The weather was decent and it’s been dry for a couple days, so people were out burning their fields.

On the anniversary of the suspicious fire that destroyed a mosque in Joplin, mosque officials say they are making progress in plans to rebuild.

The Islamic Society of Joplin Mosque was destroyed by fire last Aug. 6. The cause of the fire has not been determined. The mosque was damaged by another fire on July 4 of last year. That blaze has been ruled an arson.

The mosque will be rebuilt inside city limits. Navid Zaidi, a mosque board member, says no rebuilding will start until the fundraising is complete.

A disaster specialist for the American Red Cross Heart of Missouri Chapter says some residents of the Ash Street Place apartment building that caught fire Tuesday in Columbia may be able to move back in this weekend. But Phillip Iman says there will still be some residents who have to wait longer.

Two buildings are being called a complete loss after a fire in Bevier, a small town just west of Macon. Bevier Mayor, Bill Cosby, says the fire near the town’s center was reported just after midnight Thursday morning. He says the fire destroyed both the Pear Tree restaurant and the Black Diamond Association – a town history museum.

A rally to support Muslims after a fire destroyed a mosque in Joplin is still planned, although the organizer says more money is needed to finance the event.

A fire that destroyed the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque Aug. 6 has been called suspicious but a cause has not been determined.

Organizer Ashley Carter says the rally is scheduled for Saturday at Landreth Park. She is seeking nearly $3,000 by Wednesday for insurance and rent. But she says speakers and entertainment are lined up and she expects the event to be held.

The only mosque in Joplin, Mo., has burned to the ground. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The loss of property leaves the Islamic community without a place of worship in its most sacred time of the year: Ramadan.

The imam of the mosque, Dr. Lahmuddin Lahmuiddin, had only finished leading the special “Taraweeh” night prayers a few hours before he was awakened by a phone call from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. That prayer takes place every night at about 10:00 during the month of Ramadan.

Another fire has been reported at a former city landfill north of Columbia.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that firefighters have been battling another grass fire Wednesday at the former site of the Columbia municipal landfill, which is south of Finger Lakes State Park. The site has burned several times over the past week.

Boone County Fire Protection District Chief Scott Olsen says buried trash at the former landfill has been smoldering and continues to start fires. He says the fires will likely continue until the weather cools.

The FBI announced Monday they were offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to charges in a fire at a Joplin mosque.

The fire was reported July 4 at the Islamic Society of Joplin. No injuries were reported, and firefighters extinguished the blaze on the roof of the center before it caused any interior damage. It was the second fire in two years at the center.

Fire concerns are widening in southeast Missouri as crews battle a 550-acre blaze in the Mark Twain National Forest.

Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday ordered the Missouri National Guard to get ready to assist with firefighting efforts. The fire broke out Thursday in a section of the 1.5-million-acre forest located in Iron County, and the governor's office says about 2,000 additional acres are at risk.

Three suspects are facing felony charges for a series of fires in northeast Missouri, including one that destroyed a small-town playground.

The Kirksville Daily Express reports that 17-year-old Jaston Boone of Edina, 20-year-old Shelby Snelling of Baring and 19-year-old Athena Wolter of Knox City each face three counts. They are being held at the Adair County jail on $10,000 bond.

Columbia Fire Department investigators are looking into the cause of a three-alarm fire at the Brookside on College apartment complex. Sunday’s fire caused millions of dollars in damage, destroying most of the still-under construction apartments, but the owners plan to rebuild.